Puzzle Pieces
by GreentreeFrog
Summary: Set in a time when magic is outlawed, the land of Fiore is under the rule of the tyrannical king Zeref. An adventurer with a big secret decides to one day pull a heist at the suggestion of one of his closest friends. Little did he know that this would change not only his fate, but that of a single girl's, and the entire kingdom. NaLu
1. Once Upon a Time

**Welcome one and all to my new Fairy Tale! Er, I mean, Fairy Tail tale... It's great to see how much the FT community has grown- I've been reading these fanfics since the category only had 376 fics in it. **

**So this story is a bit of a change of pace to my other FT fic, Charcoal Heart, but rest assured, this has plenty of NaLu in it! And dragons, we cannot forget dragons! I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

* * *

A young woman leaned over a bed, smoothing the covers over her child. On the other side of the room, her husband did the same with the child's older brother. Kissing her daughter on the forehead, the woman walked over to her son, brushing her fingers through his unruly hair and planting a kiss on his nose.

"Good night, you two," she said softly, leaning into her husband's warmth. The tall man nodded, going over to blow out the candle that sat on his daughter's night stand.

"Wait!" the little boy cried, sitting up a little. His parents and sister looked at him curiously. "Can mama and daddy tell us a story first?" His sister's eyes widened at the idea, before nodding frantically.

"Yes, can you?"

The woman and her husband exchanged glances, before the man's mouth widened into a toothy grin that sent the woman's heart flying. It was in times like these that she remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.

"Why not," the man said, taking a seat of his beloved daughter's bed. His wife followed him, though preferring to sit on the ground, and lean against his strong legs. Without saying a word, the two agreed on what story they would tell their children.

"Alright you two, listen closely!" the man started. "This is the story of a reckless adventurer, and his unlikely heroine…"

* * *

Pillars of stone crashed down inside the ancient temple, inside of which a young man was having the time of his life. Grinning manically, he leapt over a large boulder with no effort at all, despite the relatively heavy weight that was hanging from his side. The adventure's prize jangled in his bag as he ran out of the main treasure chamber in search of an exit. The heist had gone smoothly so far- he'd gotten into the temple, avoided the booby-traps set by the ancient citizensand found his prize. But that wasn't the fun part- this was: running for his life, dodging the obstacles that threatened to crush him. This was definitely not the most dangerous situation the young explorer had been in- quite the opposite in fact, but it was still as thrilling as he had hoped, getting his blood and adrenaline pumping.

The young man cursed when he heard a grinding sound behind him- a sure sign that another booby-trap had been set off. These next few seconds would be vital, he knew, as that would be the time he'd have to figure out the trap before it was sprung on him. Using his strong, muscled arms to catapult himself over a fallen pillar, the adventurer put on a burst of speed. He ran as fast as he could, jumping and dodging the tumbling stones.

His keen, reptilian-like eyes spotted something mere meters away from where he was heading, in that instant forcing his feet to stop moving and windmilled his arms so he wouldn't fall from the ledge he was now facing. In front of him, the ground dropped off into nothing, spikes on shafts so long that he couldn't see the bottom of peered out of the top, their sharp edges glinting wickedly.

"Well… Isn't this a nice change of pace?" His voice, instead of holding terror or panic like any san person's would, held a note of amusement, and naturally, excitement.

Glancing around, ever mindful of the collapsing temple around him, the adventurer saw nothing of use, frowning. After another look of his surroundings, the explorer decided it was time to use 'plan B'. Unravelling the scarf that was wrapped tightly around his neck, the young man found a decent-sized rock, and weighed it in his hands, side-stepping a falling boulder as he did so. Deeming it fit, he tied the end of the scar around it, and then took his stance at the edge of the drop-off. He spun the scarf like an ancient sling-shot, to his side and releasing it once it had picked up enough speed. Instead of throwing it across, however, he threw it up.

The make-shift grapple line flew into the air, wrapping around a slowly crumbling support strut. The arched ceiling near the strut was crumbling in, creating a widening gap. The adventurer tugged experimentally on the scarf and seeing it wasn't about to budge started climbing at an astonishing explorer reached the top, shifting all his weight to the left so that he could swing up to grab the edge of the gap which was now big enough for him to climb through. Using his superior strength, he easily got through the ceiling and tugged gently on the scarf, making it unravel. He paused to untangle the garment from the rock and wrap it tightly around his neck before the ground –or rather, roof- beneath his feet started shaking.

"Uh oh…" the explorer muttered, going from standing still to a sprint in no time at all. He jumped over holes as they started forming around him and stepped lightly in places where the shaking was becoming unbearable.

Finally, he reached the side of the temple, where he spotted an old tree branch jutting out towards him. Not a moment too soon, he leapt for the branch as the temple gave a final shudder and completely collapsed beneath him. He clung to the branch as the temple was reduced to a pile of rubble, leaping down and landing in a crouch only once the dust had cleared.

The adventurer shook his wild pink hair out of his eyes to see the damage he had caused to the ancient site. It wasn't too bad, considering. He had certainly left places in much worse condition…. It would be like reassembling a jigsaw puzzle! A puzzle with over a million pieces. Oh well.

Natsu Dragneel shrugged, turning his back to the carnage and beginning his trek back to the nearby town.

* * *

The town of Magnolia was a beautiful place, known for being the most welcoming and lively in the kingdom. While not as big or beautiful as Fiore's capitol, Multiflora, the area was much loved by the citizens of the kingdom because of the bustling markets, the friendly service and the all-around great attitude of the people living there. One could even go as far to say it was the perfect place to live: great views, interesting landscape including the ocean, and enough excitement to keep the place interesting, but not enough to attract negative attention. So it was completely strange and unnatural for Natsu as he walked into the town borders with a giant grin on his face, to be met with depressed expressions and defeated attitudes.

The smile little by little slid from the adventurer's face as he followed a crowd of people who were slowly moving towards the town square. A feeling of dread had slowly begun to settle inside him, ice crawling up his back when predicted what was happening.

Natsu rounded the corner into town square to see most of the citizens of Magnolia gathered around a large wooden podium set up in front of Cardia Cathedral, the town church. Upon the podium stood an assorted group of people standing tall and proud. Most notable were the two at the forefront of the stage- two men that looked polar opposites of each other. The one on the left had white hair which stood up towards the heavens, a slender build and light, elfin-like features, whereas the one on the right had shaggy raven hair which flopped in front of his eyes, a strong face and a stocky build. The only thing the two had in common were the matching solid gold bands sitting atop their heads, marking them as royalty. They were the infamous twins Lyon and Gray, the king's only sons.

Standing protectively to the left of the two princes was a very intimidating woman. Natsu shuddered when her emotionless brown eyes passed over him for a brief second. He was infinitely grateful they didn't linger on his face, nor show any sign of recognition. It simply wouldn't do for him to end up dead just after his latest heist. The woman herself was Dame Erza Scarlet, personal knight to the princes and one of the most renowned swordswomen in the world. Her scarlet hair was tied up high on her head, leaving some bangs covering her forehead. She wore armour and a sword was clearly visible at her side. A silver haired man stood beside her, leaning on a menacing looking scythe. He was unmistakeablewith the tattoos under his eyes and the cruel expression on his face. He was Erigor. The king's personal executioner.

Natsu's whole demeanour stiffened, his eyes flickering between the people on the podium. There could only be onereason why they were all there with the town gathered around them.

"People of Magnolia!" called a strong voice, Prince Lyon stepping forward, "For many years our beautiful land has been peaceful- a safe haven for everyone, no matter what race, gender or religion. How was this made possible in the first place? We all know the story of how my father drove evil from the kingdom. He did so by eradicating one thing: destroyed all who practiced the art, who had the nerve to call themselves human. He rid Fiore of the beasts, the creatures and those unnatural beings.

"And this is how you repay him? On the eve of the anniversary of our father's greatest and final victory: you show us two of your 'people' have been practicing this evil art under your own rooves! This cannot go unpunished; the traitors against the crown must receive the ultimate punishment. Execution."

The crowd gasped as two shackled men were pushed onto the stage roughly by a couple of guards. They were forced to their knees in front of Erigor, who grinned at them with yellowing teeth. The fear was plain to see on both of their faces, and Natsu almost looked away.

"For crimes against the Crown, and practicing magic, Jet andDroy McGarden, I sentence you to death!" At Lyon's proclamation, the explorer noticed the scarlet haired knight flinch slightly, though the adventurer just thought he was imagining things.

'McGarden… where have I heard that before?' thought Natsu, knowing he had heard the name recently.

Erigor lifted his scythe, the metal glinting in the sunlight like the jewels Natsu collected. Throughout his brother's speech, Prince Gray had stared out emotionlessly at the crowd. But when the scythe was raised, for a split second emotion had crossed through his eyes. It could have been triumph, it could have been excitement, it could even have been depression,Natsu had no idea. Even with his brilliant eyesight it was too far to see.

The scythe suddenly dropped toward the two men and Natsu turned away, not wanting to watch the scene unfold. He had seen many instances like this with the amount he travelled and it never got any easier.

"NO!" the scream was pained, one of the worst sounds in the world. It was the scream of someone who had lost everything in just a moment, their life getting torn apart.

'Oh…' Natsu recalled, 'I remember now. McGarden. LeviMcGarden. Those two must have been her older brothers.'Levi was the sweet librarian who had helped the adventurer research about the area so he could pinpoint the exact location of the temple he had just trashed. The two had become friends in the short amount of time, the bookworm's sweet and bubbly personality quickly making everyone fall in love with her. Suddenly, Natsu grew angry. 'Why would something like this happen to someone as sweet as Levi? I swear, one day….'He didn't let himself finish that thought.

Growling quietly in the back of his throat Natsu hefted his satchel further up his shoulder and walked back towards the inn, not waiting around for the aftermath of the execution. The walk was relatively short, the Fairy Tail inn close to everything in town. The adventurer shuffled through the doors, payed for his room with one of the ancient coins he had collected and trudged upstairs to dump his satchel on his to drown his sorrows for the night, he headed back towards the bar, sitting in the stool closest to the staircase.

He ordered the first drink that came to mind, not really paying attention to anything at all.

"How did your exploration go? Did you find what you were looking for?" the waitress, Mirajane, asked as she passed his drink over the bar to him. Natsu knew she was avoiding the topic of the afternoon's event, which he was grateful for. He accepted the drink with a nod of thanks, noticing Mirajane'syounger sister, Lisanna, staring at him admiringly from the kitchens. He chuckled internally- the younger girl had formed quite a crush on him in the past few days which he just found amusing.

The adventurer took a sip of his drink, mulling over his answer to the barwoman's question. "Yeah, I did. Bit of a job getting there and back, but that just makes it even funn-er." He said the last bit with a wide smile, playing with some of the gold he had stashed in his pocket. Natsu realised that he was probably more like his father than he realised, what with his obsession with gold and his protectiveness over the valuables he collects.

"Funn-er isn't even a word," a deep voice intoned, its owner gracefully sitting down in the seat beside him. Natsu didn't have to look at him to know who it was. Instead, he ordered another drink and passed the beverage to the newcomer.

"It's a word now," he retorted, sticking out his tongue slightly.

"Who died and made you god?" his friend asked, sipping at his drink.

"No one. Anyone can make up words. Look at thatShakesword guy- he made up over a thousand words!" Natsu replied, thinking he had won the pointless argument. He grinned at his friend who just looked at him condescendingly.

"Shakespeare, Natsu. Seriously, you claim to be like the man yet you can't get his name right?"

The triumphant expression fell from Natsu's face. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't really care about him. He's been dead for ages, after all… How've you been, Jellal?"

Jellal smirked, gripping his cup tightly and taking a long swallow of his beverage. Jellal Fernandez was one of the first people Natsu had met after his father had disappeared. The guy was insanely intelligent- he knew pretty much everything about, well, anything. He wasn't half-bad in a fight either. There had been a couple of tough spots where they had survived because they had the other around. One thing was for sure- Natsu definitely wouldn't have been alive if it weren't for the blue-haired man beside him.

"I've been… around. What about you? Satisfy your latest lust for gold?" asked Jellal, not giving a straight answer as was his style. Natsu had grown used to it, but that didn't mean he wasn't easily annoyed by it.

"Oh yeah," he replied, bouncing in his seat slightly with the memories of his thrilling day being brought to the front of his mind. "Found this old temple built by the Zentopians- a bunch of monks who ran a cult called Zentopia. Anyway, they managed to collect a heap of treasure, so naturally, I took it all. I may have accidentally damaged the temple a little, but not enough to notice."

Jellal chuckled, knowing enough of Natsu's destructive tendencies to realise that the temple was probably in shambles, if it was even still standing. He paid Mirajane who was silently listening to their conversation for another round of drinks. The white haired beauty took the silver coins over to the register but was distracted by another customer. Seeing she was finally distracted, Jellal took the chance to speak up.

"You truly are your father's son… speaking of which, I may have something that will interest you."

Natsu paused in the chugging of his drink to blink at his friend. "Go on…"

"During my wandering, I heard about a jewel that you might or might not like to get your grubby little claws on. Have you heard of the Sapphire Star?" seeing the explorer's nod, Jellal continued, "Well the latest whispers are saying that the Sapphire Star is currently owned by the Heartfilia family. Youknow, that uber rich one which lost the woman of the house due to an unknown disease a long time ago? Anyway, it's there, but maybe not for much longer as there's rumour that the father plans to sell it. So if you're going to make your move, you're going to have to do it quickly."

Natsu picked between his teeth with his fingernail, going over Jellal's proposition. "I just see one problem with that," he responded after Mira had returned and left with their second round of drinks.

"What?"

"I'm not a thief, like you. You forget that, sometimes. I'm an explorer. Sure, I may pick up a couple of coins, and jewels, and other valuable tidbits that ancient civilizations happen to leave lying around while I'm exploring their temples, but Idefinitely don't steal from people who have been alive in the past few months."

This mature response seemed to quieten the blue-haired man momentarily, before he spoke up again. "While this is true… I haven't been entirely honest about why I want you to go after the Sapphire." Natsu made a gesture with his hand that meant 'go on'. "I have suspicions that the Sapphire has magical properties, which the current owners have no idea about. I don't want to see the Heartfilia family getting hurt or caught up in all of this, so please, can you do this as a favour to me?"

The adventurer had stilled in all movement after his friend had mentioned 'magical properties'. It was rare that one came along something like that in an ordinary household nowadays. Sure, every now and then Natsu would pick up one or two enchanted jewels from inside ruins, but with the ban of everything magical, people were extra careful not to keep charmed objects around the house. To say this piqued his interest would be a bit of an understatement. It also didn't help he had a massive saving-people complex, which he was almost positive Jellal was using to guilt-trip him into taking the job.

"Alright, I'll do it. You wouldn't happen to have directions to the Heartfilia mansion, would you?"

* * *

**I need opinions! Is it horrible? Should I just stop posting now? Or would you like to see more? I'm writing this for fun, so I really wouldn't care if only one person read it, but it would be nice if you all had a peek. **

**By the way, if you're wondering if Natsu is just some boring, magicless human, I hope I quench all your fears when I say this is not the case. I'm going to have so much fun with this xD**

**Expect an update on Friday!**

**-GreentreeFrog**


	2. Introducing the Princess

**I have to say, I am really impressed about the response towards this fic. Though I have to apologise before hand: this chapter was not edited. At all. I sort of just saw it on my desktop, thought 'this would look nice online' and posted. I know, how naughty of me.**

**Thanks to all of you who went through the trouble of reading this, and reviewing, favouriting and following. It warms the place where my heart used to be. **

**I will say this one more time: I do not own Fairy Tail. That all belongs to Hiro. I just sort of borrow his amazing characters. **

* * *

After stashing his most recent collection of gold in one of his many hiding places dotting the countryside, Natsu had followed Jellal's directions which led him to where he was currently standing. In front of him were towering wrought-iron gates which opened up to what appeared to be a small town. But the adventurer knew better- this was no town, it was part of the Heartfilia Estate, apparently one of the largest in the kingdom. The Heartfilia family was well-known for the snobbish attitude though that could be attributed to their extreme wealth and social standing. There were rumours circulating around that Jude Heartfilia, the head of the house, was a close friend of the King, though it had been neither confirmed nor disproven.

Natsu looked up at the gates and the tall fence surrounding the Estate, contemplating the best way to get through them. The best time to infiltrate the place would be at night- the armed men who were in charge of the house's security would be easier to dupe. Besides, Jellal seemed to rob at night most often, even though he claimed robbing during the day was more exhilarating. But as he wasn't a thief –he never considered robbing from temples and ruins thievery, just acquiring items of those long dead- Natsu thought it would be best to stick with the basics. So he started forming his plan as he walked towards the forest, not knowing that this would change his life forever.

* * *

_It was twilight, the dark sky was decorated by stars that resembled fairies flying in the night. The landscape was serene: trees swaying softly in the breeze, waves from the lake lapping gently against the sand and the castle tower in the distance quiet. In that tower, a beautiful princess was sitting on her bed, singing softly to herself. She had been locked in that room by her evil step-father, who had despised her very being. The princess showed little emotion, the only feeling flashing across her face was excitement, at the sound of a horse whinnying. A prince was here to save her!_

_She jumped off her bed and hurried over to her window, almost tripping over her skirts as she did so. Peering out through the hole, the princess spotted a masked figure riding in on his horse. Out of the corner of her eye, through the gap in her blonde locks she noticed a flash of red, but quickly dismissed it. She knew what it was. After all, she had spent her life being guarded by the dragon._

"_Sweet Princess, are you here? I was informed of a damsel in distress in a tower quite similar to this!" a clear voice called out, the sound both pleasing and strangely uncomfortable to her at the same time. _

"_Oh, Prince!" the princess replied, leaning further out the window to catch her saviour's attention, "Please take me from this horrible place! I am Princess Lucy! Could I possibly know the name of the one courageous enough to save me?"_

"_Sweet, beautiful Lucy…"_

"_Lucy…"_

"Lucy!"

The girl shot up, her covers flying. Her chest was heaving at the shock of being woken so suddenly. She had five seconds of disorientation, before depression settled around her. Her 'step-father' was her real father –although still evil.

She was not a princess.

There was no prince to save her.

"Mistress Lucy, we have brought you breakfast. Your father requests your presence in the main dining hall for tea with his guest in half an hour. He has asked that you dress nicely," a dark-haired woman in a maid's uniform informed the girl, placing a tray laden with food across her lap and bowing out of her room.

She had to admit, though, while Lucy wasn't a princess… she was certainly treated like one.

Lucy groaned at the thought of facing her father, and what was most likely another attempt to marry her off to the highest bidder. Honestly, she was her own person! Couldn't her father see she would only marry who she _wanted_? Giving a small huff, Lucy made a start on her breakfast, picking at her eggs but smothering her pancakes with syrup. She chewed grumpily on her food, in a way that her etiquette teacher would be horrified at. Crumbs and drops of syrup dropped on the bed-sheets around her, but Lucy couldn't bring herself to care. Her cousin taught her that she could be as messy as she wanted- they had maids for a reason. Yet she couldn't help but feel bad from time to time, sometimes helping the household staff when they let her.

Lucy was very compassionate for a Heartfilia, exactly like her mother some would say. Some parents would be proud of this trait in their child, encouraged, but unlike most parents Lucy's father would frown in disapproval at her want to help others in less fortunate circumstances than her own. Sometimes she would think he thought so just because he was a mean and horrible parent…. But deep down, Lucy knew it just reminded him too much of her mother.

Pushing her breakfast tray to the side the Heartfilia heiress slid out of bed, shivering slightly when her feet touched to cold wooden floor. Glancing out the large windows that covered the entire left wall in her room, she could clearly see what a wonderful day it was outside. The sun was shining, birds were chirping and critters were crawling. If it was up to her, Lucy would have spent the entire day out there, running amuck on the grounds, picturing epic battles and lovely tales happening all around her.

But it wasn't up to her.

These days Lucy felt little more than a prisoner in her own home.

Grabbing the nearest dress from her wardrobe, the Heartfilia heiress shed her bedclothes and donned her undergarments and petticoats. The corset should have come next, but Lucy rarely ever wore one as she made sure that all her dresses were tailored to her size specifically. After slipping on the dress, Lucy grabbed the plain silver chain resting on her bedside table, a gift from her mother. When she had asked her why there was no charm, the woman just smiled at her daughter and told her that eventually the chain would hold several charms, but this just confused the poor child.

She strode out of the bedroom and down the halls once she was all dressed, with her head held high, her back straight and her shoulders back, just like she had been taught since childhood. Knocking on the door to the main dining hall, she waited silently to be invited in.

"Come, Lucy," was the call from inside and Lucy turned the knob and entered the grand room.

Her father greeted her from the far end of the table with a cup of tea in hand. Two men sat with him- the one on the right Lucy recognised, while the one on the left was a complete stranger. The stranger was a very round man, with his three strands of hair combed to one side of his head. Much to Lucy's disgust, the hair that appeared to be a moustache from a distance was rather the hair from his nose, grown to such a disgusting length. His watery eyes lingered far too long in areas that Lucy did not appreciate and the poor girl wanted nothing more than to run from the room and lock herself away. Nevertheless, she stood tall and proud, and curtsied to her father and his guests.

"Good morning, Father, Uncle Ivan." She nodded to the dark haired, bearded man who was her mother's brother, and her blonde haired father. "Who is your guest?"

"This is Duke Everlue, Lucy. Our families have been doing business for quite some time," introduced Jude, motioning to the seedy little man.

The duke in question jumped off his chair and hobbled over to Lucy, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear," said Everlue smoothly. Lucy felt like spiders were running down her spine.

"Pleasure's all mine," replied the heiress faintly, not meaning her words at all. "Could I perhaps enquire about your business with my father?" she asked as she took her seat next to her uncle. Ivan looked like he was having all too much fun with the situation, his eyes glinting cruelly.

"I am a collector. Your father and I often trade such valuable items, and when I heard he was planning on selling that magnificent sapphire of his, I simply just had to come and investigate!" Everlue cried, bouncing up and down in his seat which he had returned to after Lucy herself sat down.

His words ignited something in Lucy- her emotions had been in turmoil about this for some time. She stood quite suddenly, making the cutlery and the cups on the table rattle. "_Father_," Lucy hissed, eyes narrowing, "You promised me you would never sell that thing! Mama left it to _me- _it's not yours to do with as you wish!"

"Sit _down_, Lucy," her father demanded in a dangerous tone. The girl did not sit. "You should find, as that you are not of legal age, that all of your possessions in fact belong to me, and so _I_ make the decisions regarding the fate of those possessions!"

Lucy knew that was a pile of absolute dung. Her tutor had made her do a course on law, and that entailed details on rights of possession at any age, circumstances and rights of minors, and what could be considered legal in regards to taking possession of others' objects. This infuriated her, but fearing her father's and her uncle's wrath more than anything, Lucy generally kept her head down. This, however, was too much to handle. Ignoring her father's and her uncle's protests, and their guest, Lucy fled the room as fast as she could, tears streaming down her face. This whole thing was messed up, in her mind. Too many conflicting thoughts and emotions were rolling about inside her, though there seemed to be a similar theme among them all: hate towards her father.

She reached her room in record time and slammed the door shut behind her, locking it and putting chair underneath the handle to secure it. Sobbing so hard that her chest hurt, Lucy flung herself onto her bed and curled up in a ball. The dress she was in hindered her breathing ability but the girl couldn't bring herself to care. Hugging her pillow, Lucy sobbed her heart out, crying for everything. For her mother's illness and death, for her harsh father, for the many marriage proposals, for the friends she never really had, and for her whole entire predicament with the sapphire. Her mother's last gift.

She remembered the times her mama would read her stories about princesses and princes and dragons and the many adventures they would have. It was a shame really, that she was not a princess in those stories- there were many times she would wish for her prince to save her.

'_But… You have something those princesses didn't have_,' her cousin's voice reminded her, a memory from when she was younger, '_A choice. They would always blindly follow the prince, not finding their own way out of the castle.'_

'Find my own way out of the castle…'

The thought echoed through her head until it was screaming at her.

'Yes…'

She wasn't trapped by a moat of lava or guarded by a dragon! Lucy could escape! But she would have to plan it right, or it wouldn't work.

* * *

Lucy had waited until the cover of night before making her move. Since her realization earlier that day, she had been coming up with all types of thoughts and scenarios in her head, and now she was putting her best plan into action. She had put all the gold she could scavenge from around the house into a decent-sized pouch and packed the comfiest clothes she could find into a small bag. Then, she had snuck out to the stables and stolen the rather long whip that was hanging from the wall as decoration. All that was left was to secure _her _sapphire and get out of the house.

The soft leather hunting boots Lucy was wearing made little _pad -_ing sounds on the marble floors. The blonde with her hair tied up into a tight braid was making her way to the room where the sapphire was being held. Opening to door, she saw the large jewel on a pedestal as if someone wanted to show it off to the world. The multi-faceted gem was such a deep blue in colour that it seemed to suck the blue out of the heavens. It was an odd shape, resembling a large animal fang rather than a jewel, but that just added to the beauty. There were legends about it, saying that it had one belong to an ancient beast, whose power and beauty surpassed anything anyone in the land had seen before.

Lucy was so entranced by the gift her mother had left her, that she didn't notice the other presence in the room until it was too late. Her mouth was covered by a very warm hand and she felt the air shifting behind her. Lucy ducked out of the way before the second hand could make contact with the back of her head and heeled her captor's knee, forcing her release. Spinning around, she faced the perpetrator and gasped upon seeing his face.

He barely looked human in the flickering light the candles provided. Crazy pink hair stood up in many directions, so untameable that the girl shuddered to think about what it was like trying to put a brush through that. His eyes slanted upward like a snake's, the within the orange iris appearing slitted like a reptiles. High cheekbones and a sharp nose would have made a normal person seem aristocratic but on this man, it just made him look more inhuman. When he opened his mouth, Lucy could have sworn she saw fangs instead of teeth, but she couldn't be sure. A scaly scarf wrapped around her neck and his clothes looked like one of a travellers'- comfortable and easy to manoeuvre in but dirty and patched, the clothes draping over his firm build obscuring his true strength and physique.

"You know, if I was a murderer, I could have killed you several times over, with the amount of time you've been staring at me and all," the man said simply, breaking Lucy's stare. His voice was light and there was a childish quality to it- overall she had to assume that the man could be harmless when put in the right mood. Unfortunately for her, this stranger was most likely not in the right mood.

"W-what are you doing h-here?" asked Lucy, cursing herself when her voice stuttered.

The grinned and raised his hand high above her head, in his grasp sat the sapphire. Lucy wondered briefly how he had managed to grasp it from the pedestal without her notice. "Taking _this_ from you," he answered, flipping the large jewel between his fingers.

Lucy's eyes widened. _Of course._ How could she be so stupid? He was a jewel thief, and he was after _her _sapphire!

"Give that back!" she cried, swiping desperately up at his hand, jumping up when her arms failed to reach.

"_No_," the jewel thief said, his tone not playful anymore, "Jellal was right about this thing. You are definitely _not_ having it back now."

"Give it _back!_" Lucy yelped one more time, jumping up and this time succeeding in slapping his hand, making the pink-haired thief accidently throw the jewel to the other side of the room.

Both of them locked eyes for a second, not grasping what had just happened. The clinking of the jewel against the wall snapped them back to reality and both after the sapphire at speeds that should not have been possible. The thief looked like he was going to reach it first, but then Lucy pulled a stunt that made her wish the ground was not stone: she dived after it, whacking her head against the wall in the process. It wasn't for nothing, though, as the jewel was now nestled within her palm.

But she didn't have any time to celebrate her small victory because as soon as the sapphire touched her exposed flesh, the room's two inhabitants were blinded by a white light.

* * *

"Alright, that's enough for tonight," the woman said, nudging her husband to get him to stop talking.

"But mama!" the little boy cried, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, "I want to know what happens next!"

"No, it is _way_ past your bed time now. Look at your little sister, Aiden, she can barely keep her eyes open!" his mother chastised, motioning towards her daughter.

"Faith can stay awake, see!" But the little boy's exclamation was proved wrong not even seconds later, when he saw his sister sound asleep, curled up in a little ball.

"_Bed_," commanded his mother, no argument in her voice. The boy looked pleadingly to his father, as if asking him to convince his mama to let him hear more of the story.

Unfortunately, this was all in vain. "Sorry, kiddo, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow night," answered the father, enjoying the power he had over his son, grinning evilly in his head.

"But, what happens to Lucy? Was that really Natsu with her? Please mama? Daddy?"

But the lights were already out and the parents were gone from the room by the time he had finished his questions.


	3. An Adventure is Proposed

**Howdy! How was everyone's christmas and New Years? Sorry I haven't updated before now, but I literally have NO computer. My loyal netbook died of old age a couple of weeks ago, along with the next ten chapters of this story and the rest of Charcoal Heart. A moment of silence, please.**

...**And now we all shake our fists angrilly at the fact that I don't back up so now I have to re-write EVERYTHING. on my PHONE. yes. You're lucky you're getting this at all.**

**Thanks to the follows and the faves and the reviews! This story is like my holiday from Charcoal Heart, that's why the chapters aren't as long, I never intended on posting it but I'm glad to see some of you like it. **

* * *

Little feet pitter-pattered along the wooden floors until the creaking of beds could be heard. The two children giggled as they tucked themselves in, having a little trouble. Their mother walked in, and had to blink when she saw them. She couldn't believe they were already in bed!

"I've never seen you two ready for bed this quickly or this early! Who are you and what have you done with my little monsters?" she asked and pretended to growl at them. The little girl just laughed while her brother growled back.

The man walked through the doorway into the kids' room and smiled. "What's with all the growling? Sounds like there's a dragon living in here!" This made the little boy cease in his growling competition with his mother and smiled brightly at his father.

The little girl sat up a little more, her eyes shining brightly. "Tell us more of the story, daddy! Please, please, please, please please!" she started bouncing in the spot, impatient to hear more of the tale.

"So that's why you two are in bed so early," the woman mused while her children nodded in response, "We should have told you this earlier if we knew it'd get you to behave better!"

The man sat down on his daughter's bed and smoothed the covers down, the little girl looking adorable with her stuffed princess and her covers up to her chin. "So where were we?"

"Natsu broke into Lucy's house!" Aiden piped up, eager to share what he had learnt, "He tried to steal the sapphire but Lucy found him and tried to stop him but they dropped it and there was a flash of light and then you stopped!"

"Breathing is important, sweety," his mother reminded him and he grinned just like his father. "So there was a flash of blinding white light..."

* * *

Natsu and Lucy blinked furiously to regain their lost sight. The adventurer's instincts kicked in and he stood in fighting stance, shielding Lucy with his own body so that the girl wouldn't be hit by whatever might come at them. Neither had a clue as to what was going on, but both were expecting the worst. Lucy was panicking on the inside, the poor girl definitely not expecting this of the jewel her mother had kept all of these years.

When the light cleared, the two realized they were no longer alone in the room.

In front of them one of the strangest women Lucy had ever seen. She was dressed in a maid's uniform but the chains hanging from her wrists made her look like an escaped slave. Her wide, blue eyes stared out at the two underneath spiky pink hair, not entirely different to Natsu's own. Her expression was completely neutral, giving nothing of her personality or intentions away. She was positioned in a slight bow with one of her hands over her heart, ready to serve.

"Good evening, Princess," the woman spoke, her voice clear but subdued.

"Who are you?" asked Lucy, stepping out from behind Natsu to look at the woman/maid properly.

The pink haired man quickly stood in front of her again. "Stay back, blondie, it could be dangerous."

This infuriated Lucy. "Blondie? Who are you calling Blondie? Besides, I don't have to listen to you- I don't even know your name Pinky." Natsu turned from his position facing the maid to give Lucy a cold look.

"Pinky? Is that the best you can do? Che, figures," said 'Pinky', scowling disappointedly. Honestly, pinky? How unoriginal. At least 'Blondie' described the girl's general appearance and her personality (that he had seen so far).

"FIGURES? Why I outta-"

"Princess? I'm sorry to interrupt, but this important," interrupted the maid before Lucy could make any real threats towards Natsu. "You can always punish me later." She added the last part like an afterthought, and Lucy was snapped out of her grumpy mood and thrust into a more uncomfortable one.

"Ah, that won't be necessary..." she said, facing the maid. The heiress was starting to feel hysteria bubbling up within her. She honestly had no idea what was going on. First she tries to run away, then she bumps into this pink-haired weirdo who's trying to steal her mother's sapphire, and then another pink-haired weirdo appears in a bright flash of light calling her 'Princess'. It was more than the girl could handle. Too bad that's the tip of the metaphorical iceberg.

While Lucy was trying to suppress her feelings, Natsu had turned away from her to study the maid intently. His nose twitched at the scent- it was... different. Not like anything he had smelt before. "Hey maid- what's your name?" he finally asked her, coming close and poking her side as if checking that she were real and not just some illusion.

"I am called Virgo," the maid, Virgo, responded. "I am one of the twelve Guardians."

"Guardians? Guardians of what?" Natsu asked eagerly, thinking it was some kind of major treasure.

Virgo looked straight past Natsu and into Lucy's eyes when she replied. "The Guardians of the Asteron Pazl."

'Asteron Pazl?' Thought Lucy, 'I've heard that before... but where?'

"What's the Asteron Pazl?" the heiress asked when she couldn't figure out where she had heard it from.

"The Asteron Pazl-" started Virgo but was cut short by Natsu.

"Is a magical jewel made up of twelve pieces scattered across the land." Lucy looked at him in surprise while Virgo nodded in confirmation.

"How do you even know that?" she asked, confused as to why this pink haired idiot knew something she didn't. Perhaps she had doubted him. After all, he was a jewel-thief.

"My dad told me about it when he was still around. Said something about it being protected by spirits and how all the pieces haven't been reunited since the rise of the Black Dragon." explained Natsu, ignoring Lucy's shiver when he mentioned the dark horror that plagued the lands of Fiore. Every citizen of the country knew of the Black Dragon and its cruelty and power. Many people were deathly afraid of even its mention, in fear that it would swoop in out of nowhere and kill them all in a heartbeat.

"It is important you reunite the pieces, Princess," added the maid, her eyes staring into Lucy's own.

"W-what? Why?" spluttered the girl, "Why me?"

"Because, Princess." stated Virgo, giving no other reason.

Natsu looked between the jewel, the maid and the girl, making a decision then and there. He was, after all, infamous for making quick but generally stupid choices. "I'll help you!" he exclaimed, excitement growing in him. "I mean, it'll just be like my other adventures, just with guards thrown in! Hey Virgo, are all the Guardians as nice as you?"

The guardian shook her head. "I'm sorry. But I imagine to collect the other 11 pieces you will have to win over the other guardians."

Natsu's excitement grew. A fight! It had been a while since he'd fought anyone, and now there were eleven people... beings... whatever, lined up to fight him, and all for getting jewels! It was like a dream come true. His reptilian-like eyes had fiery look to them, determined now to see this thing through to the end.

"WAIT!" shouted Lucy, unable to comprehend everything that was happening, unlike Natsu who was taking it all in his stride. "Why do I have to do this? And why me?" Virgo didn't answer, but the girl didn't care, as she was still firing off questions. "Did my mother know about you? Is that why she didn't sell the sapphire? Where are the other jewels anyway? And how will we know what they look like? Just answer me!"

Lucy winced after shouting the last part. As one, the three occupants in the room froze. There, they could all hear it. The sound of guards rushing towards the room. Lucy cursed herself and bit her lip, now unable to meet Virgo's piercing gaze or Natsu's accusing one.

"Princess, I must go," stated Virgo, her form shimmering, "If you ever need me just call my name while holding onto that shard, and I will answer." The spirit gestured towards the sapphire clutched in Lucy's hand before shimmering a bit more and completely disappearing. She stared at the gem which was glowing with a bright intensity, not believing what had just happened.

Something banged against the room's door, snapping Lucy out of her daze. Suddenly, a warm hand gripped her empty arm and dragged her along to the open window. Before she could realize what was happening, Lucy was already flying through the air, hurtling quickly towards the ground. A scream didn't even get its chance to leave her throat before she landed on top of the pink haired man into the flower bush which was under the window. She was pushed out of the shrubbery and the man followed, grabbing onto her empty hand and started to run, pulling her along with him.

"Wait!" cried Lucy, tugging her hand back and bringing them both to a stop. "I don't..."

The pink haired man seemed to sense what her hesitation was about. "Haven't you always dreamed of an adventure? I mean, being stuck in a house like that for so long would suck! Don't you want to see the world and actually do something?"

His words were true, completely and utterly true. All her life, Lucy had wished for a prince to take her away from her home and everything she knew. She dreamed of adventures in distant lands, with mountains and rivers and forests and seas. In fact, isn't that why she was in the room with the jewel in the first place? She had been running away, well, planning to. Things just never seemed to go to plan. Not without a few bumps, anyway. But, she mused, wasn't an adventure all about the bumps? Wasn't it about not knowing what would happen the next day, or even the next minute? Wasn't it all about new experiences, being taken out of your comfort zone? An adventure was something that books could be written about, songs to be sung about. It was what she had wanted.

"I... Yes. Yes, I want to go on an adventure," Lucy stated, her resolve firming with each word. The pink haired man grinned a huge grin, flashing his sharper-than-average teeth at the girl.

"Great!" he exclaimed, starting to pull her along again at a run, which she happily followed. "Let's get going!" Lucy laughed and followed along, taking the lead as she knew the grounds much better than the pink haired man.

"Do you always go on adventures with girls you don't even know?" she asked while running, curious. It had occurred to her that she didn't even know her 'prince's' name. The man gave a short laugh.

"Nah, never make a habit of it, really," he commented, still running with her, "My name's Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy felt she should respond in kind. "Lucy Heartfilia," she told him, then winced. She told him her last name, and now he was going to stop and take her back.

To her surprise, he just smiled. "Well, c'mon Lucy! We have an adventure to get to! An adventure, for you I think, which is long overdue!" he laughed, mimicking the pompous talk almost perfectly.

Lucy then knew that she would follow this man, Natsu, anywhere. He treated her like a person, smiling at her and encouraging her, reminding her of her dreams. She didn't care about the jewels they were supposed to collect, or what would happen to them after they did. As long as Natsu continued to smile at her, and promised to show her something new everyday, she didn't care about where they went or why. She was on an adventure, and adventures were all about not knowing what would happen next.

* * *

**Tada! Not my best work, 'cause I've been in a hurry to re-write everything that I've lost. And if you've seen my stories folder, you would understand. There was literally over 100 files in it at last count. I know. I have no life outside of fiction. But who cares! **

**I'll try to update Charcoal Heart this afternoon, so if you're also waiting for the next chapter of that, wait no more! **

**Till next time!**

**-Greentree Frog.**


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